Wheel tire



June 14, 1927.

N, GHERASSIMOFF Filed Mefrch 5V 1926 Patented June 14, 1.927.

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p Thediawbacks to -whihlpn'euzmatic tires are subjecthav'e given rise? te atterri-pts fto? ref s jgiliace'A theinf'by dvicesnot having an air tube or A' innerltrbe, since the more"v frequent. and seri accidents" which loccur"are' du@ f to' this inner'ltubef Attempts, therefore, have been to censtruct tires-and fw'vheels', known as elastic",-v vvhereilnair-tubes f orY pneumatic elements" Weren0t used, the elasticity of'fthese ties` or vv'lieels1 being; generally obtained by means j of Springs Whiblii were"L liable lto'fwvear out rapidlynandwhieh Were subjectto the drawback that theyfc'a-rieli'nt 'operation suc cessive'y and" in a diiiierentmannerrelative toeachother. 'f

The present invention`v rela-tes to` a- Wheel tire-Which comprisesA the Vusualeair-tube,. but in which this air-tube is eiiiciently'fprotected against damage by 'means oifa supple; metal protective cover Which-is suiiiei'ently flexible to' afford lthe resilient qual-ities of `the pneuniatic tire: i

y trarlsv'eiselyA to* thefaxis ofthe 'aiFrfftube The intuition 1 @basata ila foaming "as a ng fori thc'- air tube a" metall-ic Mid ove;lttppingL eaclii other, these stripsv n being hooked by theiry extremities findeny the flanges ofthe rimftvhich the casing is applied.v Y Y Y The inventionl also contemplates the -formation kof the tread-bandoi this supple mef `tallic outer cover byme-ans of bosses formed kthe lmaking of the beads Lfor 'attaching the` preferably by a pressing operation u on the metal strips, these bosses being iille nally With a light Aand rigid packing material which is flush with the inner face'of the said strips. Y y v The invention furthercontemplates making the bosses on'alternate strips otdifferent heights, so Vasto enable twobosses of the maximum height to come into contact simultaneously with the ground, vthuscaus- `ing the simultaneous tie-Xing not only of the corresponding strips but also of they immedi ately adjacent strips.

The invention furthermore contemplates said outer cover to the rim in therform of hooks formed fat the lateral extremities or thestrips vand provided with arubber band covered with fabric Which isl fixed thereto byscrews and by means of a metal counterplate. s

The-invention finally contemplates the ininterj licstrips 2 and 3 be of the tepositionfof l" sheath off'i'mpermeablefma'-y f teria'lf: bei'aiveenf-V the' :immers tube and vthe supple metallic r outer cover:I This` sheath may be of textile material treated with rubber" and it protects' the* innerftube A,from dampness, mud, and'r dust.

- An? embodiment of the invention is; shown, i by Way of j eXample in the` accompanying Y drawing; u Y s j l y In the draWingFig. lisa". side View, half in section andl half ini elevatif `rrif, ofIv arpo-rjslightly overlapping. yThe` 'metal stripsxv 2 i aref preferably slightly Wi'd'er'than ,the strips 3; but the overlapping; of' the strips is suiiicient to ensure that they` alwayscover eachaotlier,vvhatever ymayl belthe'leXing movementxof the tire, so as to2 1p reventl any nipping; or

bythe strips 3. Itis obvious .that these. prO- jections could be formed upon the metallic strips in any suitable manner, but it is pret` erable, both With a viewto economy in manufacture and With a View to obtaining lightness,V to give them the form of bosses obtained by stamping the said strips, the recess thus formed in the interior of each or the bossesv being filled with a packing 6 consisting of a light but strong material, such: as `Wood. It is noty necessary that the metalsame thickness throughout their entire cross-section@ For instance, it is preferable that they should have theleast possible thickness, for exam# ple 1 mm., inthe lateral portionv of the ytire which is subjectrto the greatest flexion, comprised bet-Ween the points 7 and 8 inFig. 2.

Their extremities, which are destined to i kform thej attaching beads, are thicker and are each fitted'vvith a band of rubber 9 en-.

closed in fabric and whichy follows the contour of the said extremities, which are curved to form hooks, as shown in Fig. 2.

Each of the elements of the metal outer cover has each of its extremities secured to the rubber band by means o'f a single screw l0, which is screwed both into a metal counterplate 1l and into the strip 2 or 3 itself. This method ol fitting the metal strips upon the assembling band 9 and upon the counter-plate ll by means of a single screw, gives more suppleness to the outer cover as a whole, because it enables each of the elements 2 and 3 to oscillate freely and independently of the adjacent elements. The bosses 4 and 5 formed on the elements 2 and 3, in addition to constituting the tread-band of the tire, also serve as abntments for the edge of the adjacent elements so as to limit the overlapping of the strips.

ln order to protect the air-tube against foreign matter, such as mud. gravel and the like, which mightpenetrate between the elements of the metal outer cover, it is preferable to insert an impermeable protecting sheath 12 between this outer cover and the air-tube which sheath might tor example be made of a rubberized fabric.

The outer cover is mounted upon the airtube in the same way as an ordinary outer cover, the beads 13 and 14 thereof engaging in the flanges of the rim 15 in such a manner as to maintain the whole fiimly in position. lVhen the wheel is running, each of the elements yields successively on coming into contact with the ground and acts upon the adjacent elements so as to cause them to yield in turn, the elasticity of these elements enabling them to resume their original shape under the pressure in the air-tube, as soon as they are no longer in contact with the ground.

By orn'iing the bosses of the tread of dii ferent heights, the advantage is obtained that two elements of the outer cover are caused to act simultaneously' with a substantially equal flexion, .while the element situated between them only comes effectively into action when the former two have flexed to a given extent. F or example, when two adjacent bosses et are sin'mltaneously in con tact with the ground, the corresponding metallic strips 2 yield simultaneously and take with them in their flexion the strips 3 which they overlap, until this flexion is sutlicient to bring the boss placed between them, into contact with the ground, and, as it yields, causes the strip which carries it, to bend, these successive liexions taking place in a "ery short space of time.

It is obvious that various modifications in detail could be made in the arrangements which have just been described, without departing from the spirit ot' the invention.

I claim:

A wheel tire comprising a plurality of metal outer strips adapted to enclose an air tube, each extremity of each strip being bent for engagement into a rim-flange, a pair ot' bands each having one of its edges curved and adapted to be inserted between one series of strip extremities and av rim-lizmge, and a single screw connection between each extremity of each strip and the band asso ciated therewith.

NICOLAS GHERASSIMOFF. 

